Posts Tagged ‘PlantBottle’

The Coca-Cola Co. just recently announced that they signed a multi-million dollar contract with three leading biotechnology companies in an effort to accelerate the developments of a 100% plant-based bottle. The partnership includes agreements with Virent, Gevo, and Avantium all combining their efforts to create the first commercial solution for next-generation PlantBottle™ packaging made 100% from plant-based materials. The partnership with the biotechnology could lead to practical results of a 100% plant-based PlantBottle available by 2017. Coca-Cola is expecting that all of its PET packaging will be replaced by the year 2020.

Coca-Cola’s current PlantBottle™, which was launched in 2009, is made from only 30% plant-based material. The remaining 70% of the bottle is made out of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which Coca-Cola hopes to replace with plant-based materials. Since the current bottle was first introduced in 2009, Coca Cola states that they it has already distributed more than 10 billion PlantBottle™ packages in 20 different countries worldwide. Coca-Cola estimates that it has helped save the equivalent emissions of more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

According to Coca-Cola, agreements with these three companies (Virent, Gevo and Avantium) will help support the companies long-term commitments through sustainable practices in sourcing and in packaging supply.

“While the technology to make bio-based materials in a lab has been available for years, we believe Virent, Gevo and Avantium are companies that possess technologies that have high potential for creating them on a global commercial scale within the next few years,” said Rick Frazier, vice president of commercial product supply for The Coca-Cola Company. “This is a significant R&D investment in packaging innovation and is the next step toward our vision of creating all of our plastic packaging from responsibly sourced plant-based materials.”

As leaders in sustainable packaging, Coca-Cola also looks to innovate and advance opportunities to other companies throughout the industry and recently announced an industry first partnership with H.J. Heinz Company. This partnership will allow Heinz ketchup to use PlantBottle™ technology in its production.

Coca-Cola has made their vision clear of making all of their plastic bottles from plant-based materials and recycled plastic by 2020. Their latest development is rolling out new packaging for their 500ml drinks. The new PlantBottle packaging is made from 22.5% renewable plant-based PET and 25% recycled plastic. The reason these new bottles are more eco-frlendly is that they’ll reduce the company’s dependency on fossil fuels. They are being released today in the UK and can be identified with a PlantBottle logo. More than 5 billion of Coke’s PlantBottles will be available in 20 countries by the end of 2011.

Coca-Cola is not new to the green movement. In fact, last year they won the Best Sponsor Activation award at the UK Festival Awards for their recycling program. Coke is committed to recover the equivalent of 100% of their packaging by 2020.

Heinz ketchup is stepping out of their shell and is making a change to their packaging. This will be their first change since 1983 when they began using plastic. The new change Heinz will be making is converting its packaging into the eco-friendly PlantBottle. This new packaging is a recyclable plastic bottle that is made from a combination of petroleum based and plant based materials. This was first introduced by Coca-Cola two years ago and they have announced their partnership with Heinz in hope it will revolutionize the entire food industry. This collaboration between Coco-Cola and Heinz shows how companies can work together and help each other become more eco-friendly.

Heinz Ketchup’s new eco-friendly packaging with be released in the United States this year, with the potential of expanding globally. Over 120 million of the new Heinz ketchup bottles will be released with a label saying “Guess What My Bottle Is Made Of?” They also have goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, water consumption, and energy usage by at least 20%.

Odwalla, maker of natural juices, smoothies, protein drinks, and food bars will be hitting shelves this March, but in a greener fashion. Odwalla will be transitioning from their traditional packaging to the PlantBottle. This new bottle is made of 100% plant-based materials and is 100% recyclable. It also consists of materials derived from molasses and sugarcane juice. The goal with this new Odwalla packaging is to reduce dependence on nonrenewable resources. Coca-Cola, along with many others have replaced their traditional packaging with the PlantBottle, in an effort to make their packaging more eco-friendly.

The PlantBottle is just another step Odwalla has taken to become a more sustainable company. They have created an organization called Plant a Tree Program, which has planted more than 300,000 trees in the last 3 years. They also developed Bloom Energy Fuel Cell technology which reduces Odwalla’s carbon footprint of its plant by 35%. The PlantBottle, along with their other green innovations are helping to reduce their dependence on nonrenewable resources.